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EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has launched what it describes as the largest election worker recruitment campaign in Alberta history as preparations ramp up for the province’s Oct. 19 referendum.
The agency says it needs at least 60,000 workers to administer voting and count ballots for the referendum, which will feature 10 ballot questions and require the printing of approximately 45 million ballots.
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said the referendum will be one of the largest electoral undertakings ever conducted in Canada and will require workers from communities across the province.
Applications are now being accepted from Alberta residents aged 16 and older who are legally entitled to work in Canada. Some positions require applicants to be at least 18 years old.
All successful applicants will be required to pass a criminal record check and agree to remain politically neutral while employed by Elections Alberta.
The agency says the scale of the operation far exceeds previous Alberta elections.
During the 2023 provincial election, Elections Alberta hired just over 13,000 election workers and administered approximately 1.8 million ballots.
By comparison, the upcoming referendum is expected to require more than four times as many workers and 45 million printed ballots to accommodate the 10-question format.
Elections Alberta notes the recruitment effort exceeds the number of workers required for Quebec’s 1995 sovereignty referendum, which involved approximately 57,000 election workers serving 4.8 million voters.
Positions available include voting officers, registration officers, information officers, ballot box clerks, count officers, supervisors and coordinators.
Workers will be needed during advance voting from Oct. 13 to 17, on referendum day Oct. 19 and during the ballot counting period from Oct. 19 to 21.
Paid training will begin in early October, with some positions starting as early as Oct. 13.
Elections Alberta is particularly encouraging applications from rural Albertans, saying workers will be needed in every electoral division across the province.
The independent Office of the Legislature normally operates with 48 permanent staff but significantly expands its workforce during major electoral events.
Successful applicants are expected to begin receiving notifications starting in mid-July.
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